Why does Trump continue to lie about the 2016 election?

Aug 05, 2018 | 8:00 AM

To the editor: Why does President Donald Trump feel the need to lie gratuitously during his speeches — even when the lie is not relevant to the speech? In his Granite City address at the reopening of a steel plant, Trump falsely claimed that he had won a majority of the women’s vote in 2016. (“Remember they said, 'Why would women vote for Trump?' Well, I don't know but I got more than she did. That's pretty good.”)

It is true that Trump won a narrow majority of the white women’s vote (54 percent), but overall among women he won only 42 percent, and over the last year those support numbers for Trump have been falling among all women, including white women. Perhaps Trump doesn’t count black women (94 percent of whom voted for Clinton) or Latinas (69 percent for Clinton) or Asian-American women (80 percent for Clinton) as women. He certainly has shown his contempt for them elsewhere!

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— Joan Safford, Evanston

The new assassination

To the editor: In ages past, Rome’s emperors were assassinated to remove and replace them, often at the encouragement of the senate and army. It was a brutal process filled with surprises and intrigue. It worked well for those in power, although was likely a little upsetting to the citizens. With all this came a lack of respect for the emperor.

Now unseating those in power is accomplished a little more discreetly, although the process is not much more civilized. Now instead, we assassinate the character of our leader. It is much less messy physically, but much more so socially, often leaving the target in distress and on the defense; this state can last the rest of his or her lifetime. Not a pretty picture.

So why is it that this method is so popular with the elite? Is it because it seems less cruel? I doubt it. It is probably because they can get by with it these days; murder is still considered unacceptable. There are two reactions toward character assassination in our culture: One group shrugs it off and accepts it as the price of power in the 21st century. The rest are appalled at such a blatant disregard for common decency.

So where does this lead? Look to the Roman Empire. Do we speak Latin? Is the empire still intact? No. In fact, the empire died following a slow but steady decline filled with in-fighting and lack of discipline in the ranks of leadership. Neither those who shrugged nor those who were appalled did much of anything to stop the rampant destruction of trust and honesty. The same is true in this century, and we see a slow, steady decline in our country.

Time will decide the fate of the United States. Those who sit and watch its decline will be as guilty as Rome’s assassins.

— Ronald Hera, Avon, Ind.

Database overhaul

To the editor: Ald. Ricardo Munoz is on the right track in introducing a plan to rein in the Chicago Police Department’s use of a massive gang database, which is also currently the basis for a federal lawsuit against the Police Department brought by the Chicagoans for an End to the Gang Database coalition.

As in Chicago, gang databases have been criticized across the country for being inaccurate, racially biased and lacking oversight, review and transparency. Youth are often unaware they’ve been placed on a gang database and, once they find out, there is generally no process for removal.

Yet despite their flaws, many jurisdictions are sharing their gang databases with federal authorities leading not only to arrests but to unwarranted immigration detention and deportations. National Juvenile Justice Network supports Munoz’s efforts to overhaul the gang database. Youth should not be placed on gang databases, which research shows to be ineffective law enforcement tools and ruinous for youth.

Time of need

To the editor: Around noon on a recent Tuesday, my 15-year-old daughter and I crashed our rental bikes on the Museum Campus. My daughter had a mouthful of blood and teeth in places they didn't belong. Several people rushed to help us. A couple of them took our bikes and returned them to the Divvy racks. A local dentist at a nearby office cleared space for my daughter and put her mouth back together.

My wife and I are so grateful for all of those who helped us in our time of need, especially the complete strangers who rushed to our aid.